Industry NewsOpinion

Here’s Why ‘SNL,’ Late Night Won’t Touch Biden, Harris and Mayor Pete

'South Park's' royal skewering shows the power of pop culture roasts

The term “shoot the messenger” had a very different meaning in medieval times.

Court jesters might be beheaded if they shared unfortunate news. Others could find themselves sailing over the battlefield, their last moments before landing with an unceremonious thud.

They probably shaped the news, to the best of their ability, to avoid such a fate.

Today’s court jesters provide a similar service. Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon and Oliver know they can’t speak the truth to their audiences. These realities must be avoided at all costs.

  • BidenFlation
  • Mayor Pete’s Train Wreck of a Presidential Dry Run
  • VP Harris’ Word Salad Menu

Their hard Left audience, along with the journalists who fawn over their monologues, would abandon them. The comedians wouldn’t lose their heads. Instead, their contracts wouldn’t get renewed.

There’s another reason Colbert and Co. won’t go near Democrats, no matter how ripe the material may be. It might cause the politicians’ poll numbers to slump.

Remember how the public turned on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after Tina Fey’s dead-on impression caught fire on “Saturday Night Live?” That proved a cultural turning point, with comedians realizing their humor could impact the political landscape.

And they reacted accordingly, becoming cheerleaders for the progressive cause.

Now, we have another data point showing the power of satire.

RELATED: LATE NIGHT RUNS COVER FOR BIDEN OVER DOCUMENTS

“South Park” recently skewered Prince Harry and Meghan, the royal couple infatuated with fame, power and victimhood status.

And not in that order.

“The Worldwide Privacy Tour” episode focused on Canadian royalty, but everyone knew show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in mind.

“South Park” never pulls a satirical punch, and the episode in question proved that anew.

Rumors circulated that the satirical targets wanted to sue Comedy Central, which aired the episode, in response. The royal couple dashed those clickbait stories, but the reality is proving much worse for them.

Their approval ratings drooped following the episode’s release.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s US approval rating plummets after ‘South Park’ dig: poll | NY Post

A Redfield and Wilton Poll conducted for Newsweek detailed the damage done by the blistering satire.

The poll said that Harry’s overall US approval rating took a hit by three points to -10 since the “South Park” episode aired. His wife’s rating now sits at -17.

The new figures show a drastic shift in popularity, as in December 2021, Harry’s rating was up 48 points and Markle’s was up 40 compared to now, the poll shows.

It’s odd to consider approval ratings for anyone outside the political sphere, but that’s a measure of how the couple is viewed as well as their career ambitions.

Meghan Markle has her eyes on the White House, according to published reports.

The sketch hit its targets so effectively everyone was talking about it, even Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan.

That’s from a single cable TV show episode. Now, imagine if late-night humorists targeted the royal couple week in, week out.

They should, given their status and palpable flaws.

Instead, Team Late Night (sans “Gutfeld!”) hammers GOP targets early and often. So why not save a few comedic shots for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris or Secretary Pete Buttigieg?

Did you see those sinking poll numbers? That’s why.

Comedians can’t afford to see their preferred politicians suffer at their hands. They know a sustained attack on their flaws would do real-world damage.

So they stand down and resort to jokes attacking former presidents and cable TV show hosts.

They don’t want to be the messenger who ends up in the crosshairs. Nor do they want to be blamed if the GOP takes back the White House in 2024.

21 Comments

  1. Did you see “Mayor Pete’s Train Wreck”? Last Thursday, he refused questions from a journalist. His PR spokes-lady refused to answer questions in front of a camera. This is funny even if unintentional.

    Biden is on the record to refuse to visit East Palestine. He only wants to visit Ukraine who has paid for his presence. The View’s Joy Beghard blames the residents for voting for Trump. Her fawning love letter to Biden is delivered.

    1. You’re reading a website devoted to the entertainment industry. What are you expecting? A Hillsdale College piece on property rights?

  2. When the media’s top story is about SNL , they are not reporting the news. They have become nothing better than a TMZ trashy gossip column. No one watches these shows but since liberals get their news from comedians, it is good to see the story.

  3. When the media’s top story is about SNL , they have stopped reporting the news. They have become nothing better than a TMZ trashy gossip column. No one watches these shows but since liberals get their news from comedians, it is good to see the story.

  4. It’s like you have no idea what fight you’re in. Conservatives who have conserved us all the way to gay marriage and trans kids, keep wanting the enemies of Jesus Christ to be “ethical” and do their jobs exposing liberals for them. This is the province of fools. There has never at anytime been an “unbiased” media, the degree to which you thought there ever was, is your exact degree of DELUSION. Liberals have always been immoral filthy i.e. what did Moses step in when descending from the mount with the tablets. Golden Calf orgy anyone? So, the idea that YOU MORONS , keep expecting CNN et al to report damaging information for THEIR SIDE and YES VIRGINIA THEY HAVE A SIDE, is ABSURD. You are truly silly people.

  5. When a comedy show promotes only one political view, it’s propaganda. Comedy is becoming extinct because of the payoffs and the truth is becoming even more extinct.

  6. A true but not very original article. The left is well trained in this behavior and anybody paying attention already knew this. EVERYTHING is political for them.

    Saul Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals – Rule five: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.

  7. So unfunny comedians are the leftist money whores I believe them to be. Now that the killer jab tnusumi is picking up speed, no doubt the unfunny will bow to their PR flunkies and join the ranks of the hollyweird, cracked up doodler and big shot lawyer claiming they were misled. Oh boo-who, my heart breaks like it did for the prince that kissed the frog, releasing a narcissists and then, quelle surprise, has turned himself into a toad.

  8. Their shots at Donald Trump have made him more popular than ever because he gives it right back to them. That is why we absolutely LOVE President Trump, and will NEVER abandon him! #Trump2024

    1. Established Politicians in DC hated Trump because he was an “Outsider” and was not “privy” to previous political agreements. This is why we need more outsiders and less establishment Representatives.

  9. We, for the most part, no longer have a “media” in this country. We have a “pravda” that
    echos what liberals want.

    1. It has always been so; You just didn’t notice as much. “yellow” journalism goes back the original marajuana prohibition, Because the newspaper owner did not want competition for his lumber business.

  10. I guess Meghan Markle doesn’t realize she can’t rent (or buy) the White House. Oh boy, she is in for a surprise. LOL

  11. Remember how the public turned on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after Tina Fey’s dead-on impression caught fire on “Saturday Night Live?”

    kinda…mostly people thought it was palin who actually said “it”. – “it” being “I can see Russia from my house!”
    an example: Ann Navarro tweet: “I had not seen a TV interview so cringe-inducing, since Sarah Palin saw Russia from her backyard.”

    1. I had always perceived that SNL made fun of the President, no matter whom it was. Boy, was I wrong.

  12. The court jester actually held an interesting position within a royal court. There is considerable documentary evidence to show that they were not held to account in the same way as the rest of the court. King Henry VIII’s, jester, Will Sommers, was able to comment and tease the King on many matters in a manner which would have cost others their position at court and, later in hHenry’s reigh, their heads. As long as he was witty and clever, which Sommers was his role was to tweak the nose of the powerful. Sommers even survived casting aspersions on the character of Queen Anne and calling Princess Elizabeth a bastard. Again, King Lear shows the unique position of the Fool, who is able to point out flaws in the Lear’s behaviour as no one else could. Today’s comedians have less to worry about when it comes to losing their heads and it is indefensible that they do not hold all public figures equally to account.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button